Throughout February and March a collegiate recycling competition has campus’ across the nation vying to collect the most recyclable materials. Recyclemania has schools sponsoring such events as “Eco-lympics” and “Zero Landfill Games” in order to promote awareness and stimulate action in the student body. Blake Osbourne, vice president of the sustainability council at the University of Wyoming said UW has technically competed in the good-natured rivalry for the past five years but this is the first year the campus has come together to push for a more green mentality.
“What we have found so far is [Recyclemania] is a little known,” said Osbourne. “Students don’t really know much about it and its not really supported.”
Rebecca Roskowski, a resident assistant for WILL GET THE HALL NAME, said the dorms are working towards spreading awareness to incoming students who may not have any experience with the practice.
“A lot of residents come from places and homes that don’t recycle,” said Roskowski. “It is often like ‘hey, what is recycling?’ even, so [the program] is largely about teaching them about recycling.”
Osbourne said the competition is a fun way to promote a good practice but the bigger picture is to foster more sustainable practices. The likened the event to that of a blood drive, a friendly contest that doesn’t really have any real prizes but greatly benefits the university, community, and –when looking at the bigger picture – the world. Roskowski agreed that a little challenge can kindle some excitement but bringing the student body to be more environmentally conscientious is the true goal.
“This is a good competition that fosters camaraderie between schools,” said Roskowski. “It’s a good way to get residents to see what recycling can do for the planet and for them.”
The competition started the beginning of February and will continue until 29 March when the weekly totals from each school is tallied and the top contenders announced. Although Osbourne admits Wyoming will not be in the running for the top collectors, for UW its not about winning as much as its about setting up an infrastructure to support recycling and getting students involved.
“[The event] is about trying to get more capacity, involvement and awareness,” said Osbourne. “We really can’t do any worse, there is only room to grow.”
